1970-01-01 02:00:00
Pep Guardiola didn’t wait for the World Cup final to talk about his favorite player in the competition. Last Friday (18), the Catalan wove a series of compliments to fellow Catalan Aitana Bonmatí, 25, who ruled the midfield of Spain in the 1-0 victory over England, on Sunday (20).
“I’m completely in love with the way he plays,” said the Manchester City manager, current European champions. “I would say that she is like the Iniesta of women’s football”, he observed, highlighting the athlete’s ability to dictate the pace of the match with good ball control and great passes.
It was exactly what she did throughout the Worlds, in Australia and New Zealand, including in the decisive confrontation. Her three goals and two assists, although satisfactory, do not sum up the impact she had on the victorious campaign of the Spanish team, owner of the best attack in the competition.
The technical group of Fifa (International Football Federation) had this vision and gave her the golden ball of the championship, given to the best player. She won competition from her compatriot Jenni Hermoso, who won the silver ball, and Sweden’s Amanda Ilestedt, who won the bronze ball. England’s Mary Earps was chosen as the best goalkeeper and won the golden glove.
Bonmatí is credited as a favorite for the best player of the season award, which has yet to be defined by FIFA. She also won the Women’s Champions League, with a decisive role in Barcelona’s triumph, scoring five goals in 11 games and distributing eight assists, one of them in the decision against Wolfsburg.
At the club, what would also be seen in the Spanish national team happened. In the absence of Alexia Putellas –who has been chosen as the best player in the world for the last two years, but suffered a serious knee injury and played in the World Cup without the best conditions–, Aitana assumed greater responsibility with the ball.
The midfielder had good help, it’s true. And she has shown rapport with her teammates, eight of whom are her Barcelona teammates. One of them is striker Salma Paralluelo, 19, who came off the bench to score decisive goals in the quarterfinals, against the Netherlands, and in the semifinals, against Sweden.
Paraluello was named the best young player at the World Cup. There were also awards for Japan’s Hinada Miyazawa, top scorer in the tournament, and for Japan’s own national team, whose discipline earned it the “fair play” trophy. But the most valuable cup was raised by Spain, and the champion of the dispute went to Aitana Bonmatí.
“Deservedly so,” noted Andrés Iniesta, the Iniesta of men’s football
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